Japan will shift the focus of its
national defense toward China and away from Russia, three months
after Coast Guard vessels collided with a Chinese fishing boat
and re-ignited a territorial dispute.

Japan will deploy troops to its southwestern islands and
strengthen its air force in Okinawa, according to military
guidelines approved by Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Cabinet today.
Personnel and tanks will be moved from the northern island of
Hokkaido, close to Russia, which were put in place to counter
Cold War threats.

"China is continuously increasing its defense budget,
modernizing the military power of its naval and air forces
including nuclear and missile capabilities," today’s report
said. "These kinds of movements are, along with China’s lack of
transparency in military and security, becoming a concern to the
region and the international community."

The government will order 10 patrol planes from Kawasaki
Heavy Industries Ltd. under the five-year plan. The
administration put off deciding whether to relax a ban on
exporting weapons as sought by manufacturers including Kawasaki
and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., in the face of opposition
from a small party Kan is courting to help pass his budget.

China Military Concerns

Japanese officials have repeatedly expressed concern that
China’s growing military might poses a threat. China in March
said it will boost defense spending by 7.5 percent this year to
532.1 billion yuan ($80 billion), following a decade of annual
increases of at least 10 percent. The U.S. Defense Department
says China’s actual military outlay may be almost twice the
published budget. In 2009, it exceeded $150 billion, according
to the Pentagon’s annual Congressional report on China’s
military.

In contrast, Japan’s defense expenditures for the next five
years will total 23.4 trillion yen ($279 billion), plus a
contingency budget of 100 billion yen. The total number of
troops will fall by 2,000 to 246,000 although Air and Maritime
Self-Defense Forces will remain the same.

For budgetary reasons, the submarine fleet will increase to
22 from 16 by extending operational time, while the number of
Aegis-equipped vessels will be increased to six from four. Tank
strength will be reduced to 400 from 600.

South Korea Cooperation

The guidelines also call for increased security cooperation
with South Korea and Australia. Japan and South Korea this year
have sent military observers to each other’s drills with the
U.S., a move praised last week by U.S. Admiral Mike Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Successive governments have upheld the restrictions
introduced in 1967 prohibiting the exports of weapons to
communist countries, those involved in international conflicts
or under United Nations embargoes. The ban was broadened to
other countries in 1976, and the DPJ proposed returning to the
1967 policy.

Today’s guidelines said Japan will continue to maintain the
"principles" of the ban, adding that the government will study
measures on the global trend of international joint weapon
programs that Japanese firms are prohibited from joining.

"It’s a step forward that a consideration to respond to
international changes in defense equipment was included,"
Yonekura said in a statement. "We call for concrete review that
will open a way to join international joint projects."